A helping hand at home: Visiting nurse service keeps seniors safe

By MARIA CLARK

|DAILY NEWS WRITER|

Apr 13, 2009 | 3:55 PM

Juggling a job, her one-year-old infant Isabella and coordinating the medical needs for her aging mother used to overwhelm Pilar Alayo.

Her mother, Lidia Lopez, 69, required a liver transplant operation four years ago. "When my mother had her transplant it was hard for me to link all the medical services she needed," said Alayo, 45, of the Bronx. "I was concerned about the long-term consequences of the new liver and she would forget to take her organ rejection medication."

This citywide service stepped in to help the family coordinate Lopez's medical needs in the comfort and safety of her own home.

She qualified for the VNS CHOICE Managed Long Term Care program, which helps nursing home-aged adults (65 years and older) to remain in their homes longer with the assistance of a visiting nurse and a home health aide.

The program provided Lopez with all the services available under the Visiting Nurse Service of New York umbrella, including taxi service to and from medical appointments, physical therapy and a home health aide to help with household chores and the personal upkeep of the patient.

Geneva Shears-Maynard, a VNS CHOICE Nurse Consultant and Care Manager, stops by the Alayo residence once a month - or as needed - to check up on Lopez, who is a diabetic and suffers from chronic back pain.

She also makes weekly phone calls to each of her 24 patients to check in on any changes in their household - or medical or mental well being - and relays the information to their various physicians.

Over time, Shears-Maynard has developed a trusting relationship with Lopez and her children.

"I need to be able to work with the family. It's a big part of my job," she said. "We are here to support the family - but not take over."

As she spoke, Shears-Maynard opened a long checklist on her laptop, checking everything from heart rate to Lopez's eyesight and reviewed her most recent blood test results.

"I don't know if you can measure the kind of impact this service has had on our family," said Alayo, as her mother sat at the kitchen table with her one-year-old granddaughter on her lap.

Josefa Rivera, 78, has also been able to remain independent with the help of VNS CHOICE Long Term Management Program. The lower Manhattan resident likes to cook for herself and do her own shopping when she can. But after suffering a stroke three years ago and having to deal with dizzy spells, Rivera's family felt she would benefit from home healthcare assistance.

"On our very first encounter she looked at me like, 'You better not tell me what to do,'" said Nurse Consultant Marion Conteh, 30. "You have to understand the character of the patient to be able to work with them without overstepping the boundary."

With Conteh's management, Rivera is able to enjoy the simple pleasure of cooking for herself and, most importantly, do it in the comfort of her own home.

"We are enabling our clients to age with dignity," said Dr. Richard Bernstein, the medical director of VNS CHOICE Medicare. "There's no place like home."

For further information on VNS CHOICE or the Visiting Nurse Service of New York visit www.vnsny.org..